If you have been out on Twitter recently then you are well aware of the large volumes of spamming Posts. Yes, Twitter Spam is similar to the email spamming but in this case it is coming from hundreds of misguided internet marketers. You have seen them. They are the Tweeters who feel their worthiness online is only fulfilled if they post large number of tweets in rapid fire that only have links to current events already on everyone’s feed aggregator or they post one quote after another.
These Spammers do not interact with anyone or get involved in any way or display any trustworthiness as a business person or Real person. They truly are going against the mainstream of effective social media practices
I am excited to see that Twitter has also seen this travesty of their site and now has stepped up their enforcement of their TOA. Some of the Twitter staff has pinged me to confirm spammers who are following me which indicates that they are truly watching their site now. So this confirms Twitter is moving forward to developing the site to becoming more of a social media platform.
Also, the games of being the most popular on Twitter which consist of following and being followed by the most people possible is also going to be looked at since that is the M. O. for most spamming on Twitter. As result of all this Spamming, or posting of large volumes of STUFF, more Tweeters are going to start taking matters into their hands and block suspected spammers and the ones that get thru Twitter will take care of.
So the questions today is..How does one start Tweeting and not Get Blocked? Good question..
Here are Five (5) Ways to build your existence on Twitter Without Spamming.
1. Develop a Strategy
Why am I using Twitter? Answer that question and then sleep on it to see if you still feel the same the next day. Yaw, OK, that may be a little extreme, but if you are just getting on Twitter because the latest and greatest Social Media Expert told you to get on there NOW and post only links to your web-site, then you probably are going to get BLOCKED right out of the shoot. So why waste your time?
If you are a business and you feel strongly after spending a ton of money on a consultant telling you your strategies should consist of placing the Company’s brand as the avatar on Twitter then get ready to get Blocked. Same goes for the individual business person who feels they need to make a few thousand dollars each second they are online and manically join TweetFeed to post noting but links to their affiliate sales sites. Twitter has not made an indestructible BLOCK button that more and more frustrated Tweets are wearing out.
Your strategy should be to post a photo of yourself in the avatar (yes, big business people are not excluded), have a snappy bio that quickly tells your mission on Twitter. Then get a few things thought out to post that introduces you to the world of very, very wary Tweets (people on Twitter) who are extremely tired of dealing with the Spam posts and are checking out anyone who enters Twitterville as another Spammer.
Take for an example Pete Delkus, the weather anchor of the Dallas ABC affiliate TV station. He posts his photo but he is representing one of the top awarded TV stations in the country. This is a VERY well though out strategy by a very large business.
2. Smile, Will ya?
If Twitter is not fun for you, then did you really answer the first question truthfully? Nobody wants to follow a ‘Content Only Posting Machine’. Tweets want to follow people who interact. Who reach out and touch others with responding to a comment made to them. Too m any of the PR companies are setting a bad example of just posting interesting remarks but then not responding to the people following them. This is backfiring on them since more Tweets are going for a more interactive Twitter and follow those who are only in Twitter for themselves.
A sense of humor goes a long, long way to building trust in the vacuum of Twitterville. When you first start posting Tweets everyone will see that you have no followers or you are following nobody. The “OH Boy, Not Another Spammer” alarm goes off and things get rather iffy at the genesis of your Twitter experience. Displaying a sense of humor attracts people to find out more about you which builds that all important Followers List.
So, start off with a Hello Twitter Post..then follow that one up in a few minutes with a off the cuff statement or questions. BUT, then STOP and LISTEN..read a few hundred tweets to start finding people who are responding to you or talking about things of interest to you. LISTENING on twitter is very important for the Newbies on Twitter.
3. Throttle the Flow
Once you get a few posts made then spend an hour or two building your Tweetdeck account or one of the Twitter filter apps you find works for you. Yaw, you will not survive a minute on the main feed of Twitter. Talking about trying to take a Drink out of a Fire Hose..there is no way to understand what is going on in Twitter’s homepage fast paced mess. Make sure to find an app that helps throttle down the volume of posts so you can see who is talking about stuff you are interested in. Once you get set up on one of the desktop apps then you can start the most important part of your Twitter existence. Building a Community…
4. Start to Follow
Now that you can see clearer who is talking about your interest it is time to make your presence really known on Twitter. It is time to start following people. The best way to do this is to jump in and hit the @reply button on someone’s post that interests you. OR, hit the RT button and show your support of someone’s remark.
Post a remark or a comment to someone’s post that shows you are of like mind. This usually gets the ball started in building trust and the community of people who are your network.
Warning..this does not mean you reply to someone’s post with a ‘Terminator’ phrase.
Terminator phrases are statements like..
- “Hey, check this out!”
- “ I found a site you will be interested in”
- “I am not sure I believe this”
- “I was shocked when I saw this.”
..using these phrases and anything before a URL you posted will result in your followers to UNfollow you which will eventually will cut short your existence on Twitter.
Nothing is wrong with attaching a link to an article or blog that is related to what you are tweeting. Just be conscious of the need to be balanced in the type of posts you make. Someone you follow will see that you just post links and will block you since link posting is the tool of Spammers.
Check out who you are following. The worst thing to do is to Follow a Spammer. People who are thinking of following you are going to check who you are following and if your are following a fleet of spammers..BINGO..NEXT..and you lose someone who maybe a good person to follow.
5. Start Giving Out Twitter Hugs
Once you start following a few people make sure to wait until a few people start following you. Remember to LISTEN more than Talk. If you follow far more than are following you then the Spam alarm goes off. The goal is to keep the number of the people you are following balanced with the number of followers. And DO NOT fall for any Get Followers Quick apps. Those are where the Spammers shop for people to follow.
Also, make sure to post something regularly..not constantly unless it is in reply to someone you are having a conversation with. Just do not post one day and not post again for a month.
Keep the urge to get a zillion followers in check and do not push the envelope by doing anything that will generate thousands of followers or go out and attempt to follow thousands. The environment in Twitter has changed over the past few months and ‘The Number Game’ (see how many followers can be gathered in the shortest period of time) is long over. Now days you have to be patient on Twitter to get those zillion of followers you think you need.
Make sure you make your existence on Twitter worthwhile. Being a chatty Charlie or Kathy and posting everything you are doing RIGHT NOW does not show social worthiness to anyone. It also shows that you are not out in the world to provide any worthiness to any cause. Even if you are using Twitter for just social purposes filling the stream on Twitter with play-by-play action of things you are doing while walking down the street is doing nothing but putting more pressure on the already high volume of post being shot out of the fire hose.
REMINDER:
Pepper your posts with a comment on a current affair and post a link to a blog on that subject. Yes it is OK to post a link to something, just don’t make it all you do. And, it is OK to attach your blog on the subject.
Post a quote from time to time that expresses your feeling at the moment. The most powerful quotes are not ones celebrities or famous person made. The most powerful quotes are the quotes you make…original stuff is 100% more interesting than a quote you already heard or saw on your quote feed.
Naturally, you want to get the message out to the people who are following you about what you do for business. Twitter is not all social..it is just at the tip of Social Media mountain which uses a social approach to developing new business.
Let your Twitter Bio do the work. A interesting post on Twitter will get someone to check out your Twitter profile..so make sure to post your blog or web-site on your bio.
Turn up the volume on your blog..put a Twitterme app on your blog..that is if your blog platform allows apps..many do not, so if you are blogging on an platform that does not have an auto twitter plug-in then you may want to move..WordPress Rocks for blogging.
Post a Tune or a recording of a song that fits your mood. But again, make the tune or photo posting have a purpose.
Of course just have fun and be yourself is the most important part of Twittering. Being interactive with people who @reply to you is very important. Thanking interesting people for following you works to building trust. Trust is the center pillar of Social Media.
The key to using Twitter for your Social Media purposes is…BALANCE..never do or post to Twitter using one style. Change things up from time to time.
Until you get established (amount 6 months on average, yes it now takes awhile to establish an a solid existence on Twitter, so settle down) keep your photograph the same as your avatar. Your followers will be looking for that smiling face before they look for your username.
To establish your existence on twitter on solid foundation you HAVE TO BUILD TRUST. Spamming or posting things that people do not want or are interested in does not build trust. The things NOBODY wants is stuff they can find themselves or things that they already have..and of course things that are really scams.
It is very unfortunate the Spammers of the world have forced Twitter to change, but maybe that has forced Twitter to becoming an even better Social Media platform.
It is still within the realm of possibility to get the thousands and thousands of followers many people feel makes their existence on Twitter worth while, but the positive change here is those thousands and thousands of followers will now trust you and you know them which is a hell of a lot better than having 20k people following you who you do not even have a any idea who they are.
Happy safe tweeting and let me know how I can help.
